Sorry mom, but I do love it. :)
Yes! Preach it! If I have gone on my nutrition rant before, I apologize in advance but I'm going to rant yet again. Your dog is not allergic to grain, it's allergic to certain proteins. Dog food companies are only appealing to your interest, not your dogs. Don't take out a second mortgage on your house for specialty food unless your vet tells you your dog truly needs it!
Here's what you need to know:
1) Know Your Budget. Dog food can get expensive for purposes I will describe in detail below. Just know your budget. Chances are you're going to be buying the same food for the majority of your dog's life, so don't bankrupt yourself just over food. Everyone knows how expensive having a dog can be, don't let their food be a bigger expensive than their medical bills.
2) Don't Judge A Book. Just like human food commercial's, advertising is everything. The purpose of a colorful bright bag is to incite you to pick that bag over the one next to it. Obviously this can get extremely overwhelming, so again, stick with your budget. Don't pick a bag just based on how it looks....doesn't that sound familiar...just do your research.
3) AAFCO Statement. The single most important label on your bag is the AAFCO. The AAFCO statement is the note of nutritional purpose or adequacy. This statement has to be substained by the pet food manufacturer and the state. The importance of this is to know if this food is correct for your pet. For example, a label says, "complete diet for all life stages." What does all life stages mean? That sounds like it's perfect for my adult dog, right? It says all life stages, and well she's part of that? Actually, no. All life stages means exactly what it says; that included puppies and pregnant/lactating dogs. Guess what, puppies and lactating dogs need more calories than adult and senior dogs. Senior dogs need the least amount of calories and different types of nutrients than puppies. Tricky food companies!
4) How Much Should I Feed? Don't necessarily go by the bag's guidelines for feeding. They tend to have you overfeed your dog, so that you need to buy more food. Just like how we are suppose to eat a certain amount of calories to maintain our weight, dogs are suppose to get a certain amount of calories as well. It's so easy to just take a scoop of food and fill the bowl. However, it's a little more complex than that. Don't get frustrated, I will try to make this as simple as possible. You need to figure out your dog's RER or Resting Energy Requirement. That's just the maintenance rate though, depending on what your dog's purpose is/if she's lactating/what life stage he/she is, they may need more calories, like we talked about above. For the average neutered/spayed dog, you are going to multiple by 1.6. So, our calculation is going to be: (30* Body weight in kilograms) + 70 = RER. Then RER *1.6 = how many calories your dog should be eating.
Example:
My personal dog is 17lbs or 7.5kg, her food is 387 kcal/cup.
(30*7.5) + 70 = 295 RER.
295 *1.6 = 472 kcal per day
472kcal/day divided by 387kcal/cup = 1.2 cups So she gets a little over 1 cup a day.
Since she is a small dog, I split that into two feedings, so she gets 1/2 a cup (an actual feeding cup, not a large sports stadium cup) twice a day. This then also gives me room to give her treats. Treats contain calories too, so take that into consideration.
Still not following try this link: Basic Calorie Calculator
5) Raw diet. Your dog will not thrive on an all raw diet. The myth is that is a dog's natural diet, because that's what wolves eat, right? Wrong. Wolves are omivoeres. Raw diets do not have all the proper nutrients that dogs need. Just google "rubber jaw dogs" and see what a lack of calicum does to a dog.,,,,raw diets don't have enough calcium for your dog. Don't feed your dog an all raw diet.
6) Grain Free. Gluten free, grain free, less carbs...that's the fad right? "I'm allergic to gluten so it's possible my dog is too, right?" Wrong, grain free means nothing to your dog. There is a less than 10% chance that your dog is allergic to grain or gluten. Read the above article. There is a greater chance that your pet is allergic to a specific protein, not a grain. Unless your vet tells you that your dog shouldn't be eating gluten, don't spend the extra money.
7) Vegetarian Diet. So you're completely against eating meat to the point that you don't even want your pet to eat it either. New flash....cats are carnivores - you cannot make them a vegetarian like you. You can actually kill your cat doing this. Just feed it actual cat food.
8) Organic. Hey, I'm all aboard the organic train for myself as well but do you really think that matters to your dog.
9) Dry Vs Wet Food. Wet food tends to be more expensive but that doesn't mean it's any better. Wet food has more water in its contents. Cats don't tend to drink a lot of water on their own, so wet food provides that extra hydration for them. Plus, it tends to be a little bit tastier. Again, pick what fits in your budget.
10) Brand Name. Any big name brand food is fine for your dog: Purina, Hills, Royal Canin, or Eukanuba. Let your dog tell you what they enjoy/thrive on eating. Two specific big name foods I don't like are Blue Buffalo and Purina Beneful. This is purely my personal opinion and not every vet feels the same way. The reason I don't like Blue Buffalso is because they advertise very well, but it's very expensive and not necessary what your dog needs. Their research is based on what owners prefer to see on a food label, not the nutritional requirements for your dog. Oddly enough, they also don't let veterinarians visit their facilities. That seems a little suspicious to me. Purina Beneful has artificial coloring and I've seen a lot of dogs with diarrhea on this food. Again, they advertise well, but it's not necessary the best for your dog.
There is so much more that can go into dog food, such as ingredients and hypoallergenic diets. Long story short, do your research on that brand you chose and consult with your vet if you're not sure.
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